Form 1040 vs 1040-NR
One is the resident return, taxing worldwide income; the other is the non-resident return, reaching only US-source and connected income.
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One is the resident return, taxing worldwide income; the other is the non-resident return, reaching only US-source and connected income.
Side by side
| Form 1040 | Form 1040-NR | |
|---|---|---|
| Filed by | Citizens, green-card holders, resident aliens | Non-resident aliens |
| Income reported | Worldwide | US-source and effectively connected income |
| Deductions | The full ordinary set | Restricted |
| Foreign reporting | Account and asset reporting applies | Generally not |
| Transition year | A dual-status filing covers both periods | The same |
Which one applies to you
Determine status first — green card or day count — and only then choose the return. In an arrival or departure year, a dual-status filing covers both periods, and it is the filing most often got wrong.
What to do next
Send us the facts and we will tell you what has to be filed and what it costs.
Reviewed against current guidance for the 2025 and 2026 filing seasons by Udit Gupta, Cross-Border Tax Expert, Legal Quotient Consultants. Written as general guidance, not as a recommendation for your situation. Talk it through with us before acting on it.
Where international tax accountant comes into this file
People reach this page searching for international tax accountant. It is covered here as it applies to Form 1040 vs 1040-NR — who it applies to, what has to be filed, and what it costs, at a fixed fee agreed before the work starts.
The difference a dedicated cross-border team makes
We say early if it is not our work
If a file needs something this practice does not do, you hear that at the start rather than after a bill.
Cross-border is the whole practice
International and cross-border tax is all we do — not a sideline next to domestic work. The edge cases on this page are our ordinary Tuesday.
You deal with the person who did the work
The practitioner who prepared and reviewed your file is the one who answers the question about it.
The fee is fixed before we start
Quoted from your documents and agreed in writing. The number you accept is the number you pay.
What these engagements turn on
An arrival year filed as though it were a full residence year
The client had moved to the US partway through the year, and their preparer had filed the resident return for the whole of it, reporting foreign income earned in months when the client was not a US resident. We established the residency start date, split the year at it, and prepared the dual-status filing the year actually called for, with worldwide income in the resident period and US-source and effectively connected income in the other. The engagement produced a corrected return and a written statement of how the start date was determined.
A departure year where the split was never made
The client had left the US and carried on filing as a resident, because that was what the previous years looked like. The year of departure is a split year, and the two periods are computed on different rules. We fixed the date status ended, rebuilt the year on both footings, and prepared the dual-status filing, checking which reporting obligations attached to the resident period alone. The engagement produced a filed return that reflects the actual date of departure, and a clean starting point for the years that follow.
A green-card holder abroad who had been filing as non-resident
The client had lived outside the US for years, was taxed where they lived, and had been filing the non-resident return on the reasoning that they were no longer resident in any ordinary sense. The card itself puts the holder on the resident return, reporting worldwide income, with account and asset reporting alongside it. We reviewed the open years, prepared the returns on the correct footing, and set out the reporting that had been missed. The engagement produced a corrected filing history and a decision put plainly to the client.
Two rate systems computed side by side on one return
The client had a US business interest producing effectively connected income and a portfolio producing passive US-source income, and the return had treated the whole of it as one pool. The two are computed differently, net and at graduated rates on one side, gross and at a flat statutory rate on the other. We separated the income by character, allocated the expenses to the side they belong to, and computed each accordingly. The engagement produced a return showing both computations distinctly, with the allocation reasoning kept on file.
Recovering withholding taken above the rate a treaty allowed
US-source passive income had been withheld at the full statutory rate because the payer held no documentation supporting a lower treaty rate. That income is taxed on its gross amount with nothing to deduct against it, so the excess could only come back through a return. We confirmed the treaty position, established the client's residence for treaty purposes, and filed the non-resident return claiming the difference. The engagement produced a recovered withholding and corrected documentation lodged with the payer, so the following year is withheld correctly.
Settling status before deciding which return to file
The client had spent substantial time in the US across several years without ever fixing their status, and had filed nothing on the assumption that a non-resident with no business there owes nothing. We worked out the status question first, taking the green-card position and the day count year by year, because status can change between years while the pattern of travel looks unchanged. The engagement produced a status determination for each open year and a filing plan that follows from it rather than from habit.
Wintering in the US Long Enough to Become a US Filer
Days in the United States accumulate across three years, and enough of them make you a US resident for tax regardless of immigration status. The file counts the days properly and files the statement that keeps the position closer connection rather than residence.
Read how this one runsDeemed Resident or Factual Resident — Not the Same File
The two statuses attract different returns, different credits and different provincial treatment, and the label is decided by facts rather than chosen. Establishing which applies is the work; the filing follows from it without argument.
Read how this one runsAll case studies — every published engagement in one place.
Core International & Cross-Border Tax Services
International Tax Planning & Advisory
Strategy and compliance for income, assets and families spread across borders.
U.S. & Cross-Border Tax Returns
Expat & Emigration Tax
Non-Resident Canadian Tax
Transfer Pricing & BEPS
Tax Treaties & Withholding
Cross-Border Estates & Trusts
Global Investments & Reporting
Cross-Border Corporate Tax
India Tax for NRIs & Returning Residents
Canadian Tax with a Foreign Element
UAE Tax for Expats & Their Home Country
Industries & Client Types We Serve Worldwide
Global E-commerce & Marketplaces
- Foreign VAT / GST / sales tax registrations
- Marketplace withholding reviews
- Inventory nexus & PE analysis
- Multi-currency books reconciled
Technology & SaaS
- Cross-border revenue sourcing & withholding
- IP structuring with real substance
- Equity for cross-border teams
- U.S. expansion: entity & PE setup
Professional Services Firms
- Reg 105 / 102 waivers
- Permanent establishment risk
- Partner mobility planning
- Cross-border withholding recovery
Cross-Border Real Estate
- Section 216 rental returns
- FIRPTA withholding recovery
- Section 116 clearance
- Treaty credit optimization
Importers, Exporters & Manufacturers
- Transfer pricing documentation (s.247)
- Customs value vs transfer price
- Foreign affiliate reporting (T1134)
- Country-by-country reporting
Athletes, Artists & Entertainers
- Reg 105 & U.S. CWA agreements
- Multi-state & country calendars
- Touring income allocation
- Royalty & image-rights withholding
Remote Workers & Digital Nomads
Working from anywhere doesn't mean taxed nowhere: residency defaults, employer payroll exposure and treaty relief decide where income actually lands.
Working from another country does not by itself end tax residence in the one you left, and it can start one where you are sitting. Day counts, ties, the employer's own exposure and the treaty tie-breaker all point at the same question, and the year you move is the year it has to be answered on paper.
- Residency analysis before moving
- Employer payroll exposure
- Totalization & social security
- Foreign tax credits
Investment Funds & Holding Companies
- Treaty access & PPT reviews
- FAPI & surplus computations
- Withholding-efficient routing
- Governance & substance
